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Analysis Project
White Paper
Apparel and Communications Technologies (ACT)
Department of University of Wisconsin - Stout

Conducted by: Jacob Pharo

University of Wisconsin Stout
Spring 2014
TECH-733 Impacts of Technology

Pharo, Jacob N. Apparel and Communication Technologies Department Analysis Project

White Paper

Abstract
This paper reviews how technology has impacted University of Wisconsin - Stout's, Apparel and
Communications Technology Department. The goal was to assess a probable future based upon
external research using concerns that are felt by the faculty within the department. In-person
interviews were conducted to obtain these concerns and to broaden knowledge pertaining to the
Apparel and Communication Technologies Departments roles and interactions.

Acknowledgments

This project was devised in coordination for the course Tech-733, Impacts of Technology.
It is through the guidance and support of my instructor, Dr. Byron Anderson, that I was able to
coordinate this project in such a manner. Special thanks also goes out to Kevin Olson, Renee
Gunderson, Dr. Kevin Tharp, Dr. Ted Benson, and Dr. Steve Schlough who graciously allowed
me to interview them to gain a further understanding of their roles within the department and
how it has changed due to technology over the years. Without their assistance, this project would
have never been possible.

Table of Contents
Abstract...................................................................................................................... 2
Chapter I: Introduction............................................................................................... 5
Statement of the Problem....................................................................................... 5
Purpose of the Study............................................................................................... 5
Assumptions of the Study........................................................................................ 6
Limitations of the Study.......................................................................................... 6
Methodology............................................................................................................ 6
Question List........................................................................................................... 7
Chapter II: Needs........................................................................................................ 8
Chapter III: Probable Future...................................................................................... 11
Limitations............................................................................................................. 12
Conclusions........................................................................................................... 13
References................................................................................................................ 14

Chapter I: Introduction

The Apparel and Communication Technologies (ACT) Department, more specifically, the
Communication Technologies aspect of the ACT Department supports specific degrees. These degrees
include: Bachelors of Science in Cross-Media Graphics Management, Information Technology
Management, Information and Communication Technologies, and also a Master of Science in Information
and Communication Technologies. The role of the department as described by their website is: "The
Apparel and Communication Technologies Department (ACT) serves three functions: instruction,
professional service, and research. The department offers instruction for programs within the University
which focus on information and communication technologies and apparel design/development" (Krueger
& Lee, 1998).

Statement of the Problem

Using the statement of: What has instructional support meant to the Apparel and
Communications Technologies (ACT) Department in relation to Information Technology (IT), as
it has been changing over time? a probable future is to be created.
Purpose of the Study
The intent of this analysis project was to analyze how technology has impacted the academic
information technology industry, specifically the Apparel and Communication Technology department at
University of Wisconsin Stout. Based upon the knowledge gained from the analysis project a probable
future is formed.

Assumptions of the Study

The future in this instance is defined as three to five years from the current year of 2014.
References to the past are based on a time frame of five to ten years from the current year. The author of
this paper is a student worker within the department, but is indirectly vested. It is indirectly vested, due to
the fact that he will not be present with the organization during the probable future that this paper is
predicting.

Limitations of the Study

This paper is meant to guide towards a probable future based upon interpreted data. It is not a
definite future due to the amount of unpredictable variables. The data that was interpreted to develop the
probable future originated from external sources, predicted future trends, and interviews with members of
the Apparel and Communications department. The interviews with the members provided a
knowledgebase for past and present happenings within the department.

Methodology
Through interviews, an understanding was developed in regards to the changes that have
occurred in the past of the ACT Department, and also current concerns that they face. The
interviews were conducted with members are a variety of different roles within the ACT
Department in order to get a full view of the situation. These roles were: Instructors, Lab
Manager, Program Director, and ACT Department Chair. Each individual answered a series of
questions based upon their point of view within the ACT Department. Using those answers,
external research through online resources was conducted to develop a probable future.
Question List
1. What do you feel is the purpose of the ACT Department?
a. Example: Is it to guide students toward a specific outcome?
2. How do you define your role within the ACT Department?
3. Are there any specific technological needs that are currently not met within your role?

4. What specific software is fundamental to providing for the students?

5. What specific hardware is fundamental to providing for the students?
6. What are some technology related concerns you have currently, or foresee coming in the
near future?
7. What are your plans to resolve these concerns?
8. What major technology related changes are expected to occur in the near future?
9. Are any of these concerns the same ones you have encountered in the past?
a. (If so, why is it that the previous solutions was not able to correctly solve the
problem?)
10. What major technological changes have occurred in the past five to ten years that had a
large impact on your area?
11. What has been the main cause of change in the past?
a. (Have you noticed any specific trends?
i. Example: Are the changes generally caused internally, externally, or
individual based?)
12. When technology changes do occur, what does that mean for the students?
a. Are there new requirements added to their knowledge contradicting what they
have learned, or removed from what they need to do?

Chapter II: Needs

A major concern of every business is budget. Is the budget large enough? Is the budget
appropriate? How more money be saved? Even though the University of Wisconsin - Stout (UWStout) is just that, a university, it is still a business and needs to maintain a certain dollar amount
in order to stay functioning. As indicated by The Dunn County News, a popular news source for
the UW-Stout region, "UW-Stout stands to lose $2.52 million or more. Thats in addition to the
cut of $8 million that is already included in the 2011-13 budget" (Anderson, 2011). This had
occurred just a few years ago from the writing of this paper, and now they are faced with similar
actions. The UW system had received mandatory budget cuts, and also a tuition freeze. A tuition
freeze is an inability to raise tuition costs for a period of time. As listed from the Wisconsin
government site, "Governor Scott Walker is calling for an additional two-year tuition freeze for
the UW System in the next budget" (Governor Scott Walker Calls for Additional Two-Year
Tuition Freeze for University of Wisconsin System, 2014).
During my time spent interviewing various staff members of the ACT Department, it
became clear that the concerns were not felt unanimously. The Instructors, which are at a lower
level in the department, still felt all their needs were being met. To them, there is no such thing as
a needed device or software, because everything that they needed to function was provided for
them. The concerns at the Instructor level was based upon time restrictions. Examples of such
concerns I feel are very common for individuals in their position. Will I be able to appropriately
incorporate the material that the students need to learn in the amount of time that I have? Are the
students being prepared for their future careers?

The individuals of higher ranking within the ACT Department however, were extremely
concerned about the needs of their department and the potential of not being able to meet them.
Some may think, that it is management's duty to make these concerns invisible to those they
support, but in this case it is not invisible. The budget has not yet become a problem for the
instructors to face, but it is known and it will become a problem for all members of the ACT
Department.
Another major concern to the ACT Department, is the technology. The twenty first
century that we are in has been witness to many new inventions and concepts that are growing
rapidly. For a department that teaches technology in the world of academia, that means that there
is constant change. A lack of stability is present in the courses as new material is constantly
added and removed. As stated by Ted Bensen, the Program Director for the Cross Media
Graphics Management degree, the instructors are no longer able to become experts in their
specific technologies. They possess enough knowledge to teach the new material and a firm
understanding of it, but not to be able to answer every unique questions that they may be asked.
This is something that was not always the case in comparison to years past.
PC Magazine, a well renowned publication for computer technology stated to expect to
replace a laptop in, "no sooner than two years and as soon as you want after five years" (Duffy,
2012). That time frame is within when a standard student is still going through their college
studies. Bear in mind, this is talking about one specific technology, a laptop. Imagine trying to
predict the life of: software, hardware, and industry standards. It sounds like an impossible task,
but that is exactly what Instructors are being taxed with, while also having to maintain a high
level of teaching quality.

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The concept of outsourcing rang clear throughout the various interviews with members of
the ACT Department. Outsourcing in this instance would be towards certain technological needs
that the ACT Department has being met and supported outside of our Department. This has
slowly occurred through the housing of web servers, Microsoft Dynamics, and various others. It
became apparent as an appropriate solution after a cost benefit analysis was performed. The
amount of time it would have taken to have the faculty prepare, setup, and support the needed
technology would not be equivalent to the cost to pay another entity to do those tasks. An entity
that would specialize in this area where as the faculty member would not.
Step back for a moment and think about your current experience or past experience with
college. Was there a time that you were completely overburdened with the amount of material
that was placed in front of you? Even in degree specific courses, was there not a time during a
test that you chose to prioritize certain information due to lack of time to firmly grasp another?
This information overload is another concern that is present within the ACT Department. When
is there too much being asked of the students, or when is there too little? This is a concern that is
felt by all members of the department due to the role that the department holds.

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Chapter III: Probable Future

UW-Stout's ACT Department currently faces a variety of concerns. Budget must be

scrutinized for capability. New technology must be capable of being taught. Cost benefit
analyses consistently conducted to review the departments current capabilities compared to the
services they provide. Student's workload must constantly be analyzed. With these concepts in
mind, the future looks dauntingly similar to what is occurring now with dark clouds circling.
With the tuition freeze and budget cuts mentioned earlier, the ability for the ACT
Department to grow, diminishes. The instructors have not yet felt the true burden of what it
means to have the budget be cut, because they are during a time frame where their technology
needs have yet to change. When that time does come and there is need for a budget that is not
present, the efforts of the staff will become placed in a different direction. Steve Schlough
mentioned one way that they are currently handling budgeting concerns in through the efforts of
reaching out to industry partners and receiving donations. This very well could be what tides
them through the budgeting concerns, but it is not a fix-all method. There is no guarantee set
forth at this time that there will not be more budget cuts or tuition freezes. There is no guarantee
to where UW-Stout will try to pull money from to handle budget cuts. As stated by Phil Lyons,
the Vice Chancellor of Administrative and Student Life Services and described by Eric
Lindquist,
"Our costs will go up, and our revenue will stay the same, Lyons said. That would
mean there would have to be additional cuts, possibly affecting educational quality, class
sizes, services, scholarship money, and faculty recruitment and retention." UW-Stout on

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Friday released statistics showing that its balance was $16.1 million in fiscal year 2013,
representing about 10 percent of the universitys annual expenditures and slightly less
than 1.5 percent of the UW total. Most of that money is designated for specific uses,
Lyons said." (UW-Stout winces at Walker's proposed tuition freeze, 2014)
In a research study done by John Ziker faculty members at Boise State, "spend a large
amount of time in meetings and 30 percent of their time doing administrative tasks unrelated to
teaching and research. Faculty work well over a 40-hour work week, including putting in time
off campus and during the weekends" (Ziker, 2014). Using this information as a basis, it is easy
to state that Instructors have very little time remaining within their day. If the future holds less
faculty retention, the possibility of a position being vacant requiring the remaining faculty to take
on the additional work is very strong. A typical work week is defined as 40 hours, and if the
faculty are already tasked with going above that, asking more of them only increased the chance
of a smaller retention percentage.
The ACT Department faces concerns with time in regards to the technology aspect. The
faculty are required to constantly be researching and predicting the technology that they will
have to be teaching in the future. This is a time drain, but is a necessity when in academia. If the
coordinating with industry partners for donations becomes a necessity, the staff not only have
their typical teaching and administrative tasks, researching tasks, but now coordinating with
industry individuals to try and leverage for donations. The ACT Department risks not holding
true to their role. They would no longer be providing the instruction that the students deserve,
and they strive to provide.

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Limitations
Be aware, this is not a definite future, but instead a probable future based upon
interpreted data.
Conclusions
The probable future of UW-Stout's ACT Department is one sought with concerns over time and
money. It will require constant effort to be placed upon providing the students the tools they need to
succeed in their career in a way that is affordable for the department. Some ways that this may occur is
through technological needs may be best met by outsourcing specific areas to entities that are experts, and
by receiving donations. These donations will come from industry partners and would be found by
members of the ACT Department. This is not permanent solution to the problem, but it is a step forward.

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References
Anderson, D. (2011, October 22). UW-Stout, UW System hit with more budget cuts : Dunn
County News. Dunn County News. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from
http://chippewa.com/dunnconnect/news/local/uw-stout-uw-system-hit-with-morebudget-cuts/article_112e87de-fccb-11e0-80d7-001cc4c03286.html
Duffy, J. (2012, July 16). Get Organized: When Should I Buy a New Device?. PC Magazine.
Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407097,00.asp
Governor Scott Walker Calls for Additional Two-Year Tuition Freeze for University of
Wisconsin System | Office of the Governor - Scott Walker. (2014, April 11). Office of the
Governor. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://walker.wi.gov/newsroom/pressrelease/governor-scott-walker-calls-additional-two-year-tuition-freeze-university
Krueger, C., & Lee, H. (1998, July 6). University of Wisconsin Stout | Wisconsin's Polytechnic
University. Bylaws. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from
https://www.uwstout.edu/act/bylaws.cfm
UW-Stout winces at Walker's proposed tuition freeze. (2014, April 11). Leader-Telegram.
Retrieved April 19, 2014, from
http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_ef054400-c1fc-11e3-a0390019bb2963f4.html
Ziker, J. (2014, March 31). How professors use their time: faculty time allocation. The Blue
Review. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from https://thebluereview.org/faculty-timeallocation/